Catch the Wave is an annual professional wrestling tournament promoted by the Pro Wrestling Wave promotion. It has been held since 2009 and takes place between the end of April and the beginning of August. As up until March 2013 there were no singles championships in Pro Wrestling Wave, Catch the Wave was effectively the top singles achievement in the promotion. The tournament is contested in round-robin format with the winners of each block advancing to the semifinals. From 2010 to 2012, the tournament included a "Loser Revival" battle royal, where already eliminated wrestlers battle for the fourth and final spot in the semifinals of the tournament. This system allowed the tournament to be won twice by a wrestler, who was originally eliminated in the round-robin section. From 2011 onwards, the tournament has concluded with an award ceremony. The winner of the main tournament earns the title of and ¥1,000,000. From 2014 to 2016, Wave also held a separate Catch the Wave tournament for rookie wrestlers, running concurrently with the main tournament.
List of winners
Main tournament
Rookie tournament
2009
The 2009 Catch the Wave took place over nine shows between May 27 and August 11. The tournament included sixteen participants split up into four blocks titled "Comical", "UK", "Visual Technical" and "Young". Matches in the UK block could only be won by knockout or submission and had a ten-minute time limit as opposed to fifteen-minute time limits in the other blocks. Outside participants in the tournament included freelancers Apple Miyuki, Bullfight Sora, Kaoru and Kyoko Kimura, JWP Joshi Puroresu's Pinky Mayuka and Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling's Ryo Mizunami.
2010
The 2010 Catch the Wave took place over ten shows between May 30 and August 11. The tournament included fifteen participants split up into three blocks titled "Rival", "Visual Technical" and "Young". Outside participants in the tournament included freelancers Asami Kawasaki, Io Shirai, Kana and Mio Shirai, JWP Joshi Puroresu's Senri Kuroki and Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling's Ryo Mizunami. On July 4, Kuroki was sidelined with gastroesophageal reflux disease and was forced to forfeit the rest of her matches in the tournament. This tournament introduced the concept of the "Loser Revival" battle royal, where those that finished second and third in their blocks were allowed to compete for a spot in the semifinals of the tournament.
August 10: Visual Technical block third place playoff match: Gami defeated Toshie Uematsu (1:22). Loser Revival battle royal: Gami defeated Asami Kawasaki, Cherry, Io Shirai, Kana and Misaki Ohata (8:15).
2011
The 2011 Catch the Wave took place over eight shows between May 2 and July 24. The tournament included fourteen participants split up into three blocks titled "Technical", "Visual" and "Young". Outside participants in the tournament included freelancer Nagisa Nozaki, Kagetsu and Ryo Mizunami from Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling and Nao Komatsu from Oz Academy. This was the first tournament, where all wrestlers eliminated after the round-robin portion of the tournament were allowed to enter the "Loser Revival" battle royal.
July 24: Loser Revival battle royal: Kana defeated Ayumi Kurihara, Mika Iida, Mio Shirai, Nagisa Nozaki, Nao Komatsu, Ryo Mizunami, Sawako Shimono, Tomoka Nakagawa and Yumi Ohka (8:28).
Post-tournament awards: Best Bout Award: Ayumi Kurihara vs. Yumi Ohka, May 29 Best Performance Award: Nao Komatsu cheering squad Fighting Spirit Award: Mika Iida Outstanding Performance Award: Mio Shirai Technique Award: Tomoka Nakagawa
2012
The 2012 Catch the Wave took place over nine shows between April 30 and July 16. The tournament included fifteen participants split up into three blocks titled "Black Dahlia", "Power" and "White Tails", with two of the blocks made up of members of the Black Dahlia and White Tails stables. Outside participants in the tournament included Hamuko Hoshi and Tsukasa Fujimoto from Ice Ribbon and Syuri from Wrestling New Classic (WNC). The tournament featured a title change, when on June 8, Mio Shirai defeated Ayumi Kurihara to win DDT Pro-Wrestling's Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship.
July 1: Loser Revival battle royal: Misaki Ohata defeated Ayako Hamada, Aya Yuki, Cherry, Hamuko Hoshi, Hanako Nakamori, Kana, Mio Shirai, Sawako Shimono, Shuu Shibutani, Syuri and Tsukasa Fujimoto (13:20).
Post-tournament awards: Best Bout Award: Ayumi Kurihara vs. Syuri, June 24 Best Performance Award: Hamuko Hoshi Fighting Spirit Award: Hamuko Hoshi Outstanding Performance Award: Sawako Shimono Technique Award: Tsukasa Fujimoto